Senate Bill 397, Expand a corporate/developer subsidy regime To authorize creation of a sixth “Next Michigan Development Corporation,” which is a government agency that gives tax breaks and subsidies to particular corporations or developers selected by political appointees on the entity's board for projects meeting extremely broad "multi-modal commerce" criteria (basically, any form of goods-related commerce). The new entity would be in the Upper Peninsula.

Senate Bill 311, Increase tobacco sale to & possession by minors penalties To increase the penalties for selling tobacco to minors, from $50 to $100 for a first offense, and $500 for a subsequent offense. The increased penalties would also apply to a minor who tries to buy or who possesses tobacco.

House Bill 4613, Establish dead tenant procedures for landlords: Passed 36 to 0 in the Senate To establish specific property entry procedures and notice requirements to be followed by a landlord who believes a tenant has died. Also, to shorten the statute of limitations on a tenant suing a landlord for unlawfully interfering with the premises.

House Bill 4930, Repeal club emblem vehicle display ban: Passed 107 to 0 in the House To repeal a law that bans displaying the emblem or insignia of any organization, association, fraternity, lodge or club on a vehicle unless the vehicle owner belongs to the organization.

House Bill 4952, Halt unemployment benefits for failed drug test To make a person ineligible to collect unemployment benefits if a prospective employer requires a drug test as a condition of a job offer and the individual either refuses to take the test or fails it.

House Concurrent Resolution 11, Authorize adoption of "Common Core" school standards: Passed 85 to 21 in the House To authorize the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education to spend money to implement "Common Core" curriculum promoted by an entity associated with the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, subject to various restrictions and conditions specified in the resolution. The authorization does not apply to an associated student testing regime.

SOURCE: MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate. Please visit http://www.MichiganVotes.org.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted,
provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly
cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by
Mackinac Center policy staff.